CRS: Wool and Mohair Price Support, October 30, 2008

From WikiLeaks

The CRS is a Congressional "think tank" with a staff of around 700. Reports are commissioned by members of Congress on topics relevant to current political events. Despite CRS costs to the tax payer of over $100M a year, its electronic archives are, as a matter of policy, not made available to the public.

Individual members of Congress will release specific CRS reports if they believe it to assist them politically, but CRS archives as a whole are firewalled from public access.

This report was obtained by Wikileaks staff from CRS computers accessible only from Congressional offices.

As required by the Oil Pollution Act and the Superfund law, the USCG's pollution preparedness and response activities aim to reduce the impact of oil and hazardous substances spills. USCG's National Pollution Funds Center manages the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, paying certain spill-related costs and certifying that vessels show evidence of financial responsibility. Another prevention effort, minimizing marine debris, addresses commercial items (e.g., lost nets and fishing lines), as well as trash from recreational fishing and boating (e.g., beverage cans, bottles, and pieces of foam plastic). The Administration estimates that the marine environmental protection mission will receive $339 million in FY2009, a decrease of approximately $12 million from the enacted amount estimated for FY2008.